Avatar
by Michael Fetter
Summary: Ranma is dead. Long live Ranma! A tale of Ukyou's love as she steps in for Ranma when he meets an unfortunate end.


Disclaimer: Ranma1/2 is the product and property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video. This story is for free distribution.

Prereader: The noble, and sometimes notable, nefarious 

Cannible Who Snacks

Ten years ago . . .

Genma fell to the ground heavily beside the grave he had finished filling. In his mind he could see the small boy, his white gi was shred with barely enough left to cover the scratched body. Genma's hands hit the ground with resounding smacks as he wailed the impossibility of such a tragic thing. He didn't want to believe.

"Ha!"

Genma was startled to hear a little girl's voice. She wore a bandoleer of spatulas with a large spatula over her back. The chef outfit was dirty from a long run, but otherwise fine. "I knew you were just testing me! You wanted to make sure I was a good enough martial artist, huh?"

Genma smiled at the little girl. He knew that, despite the masculine nature of her clothing. 

Unaware of the depressed state of the balding martial artist, Ukyou looked about the area expectantly. "Where's Ranma?"

****

* The Avatar *

By Michael Fetter

Chapter One

(Misbegotten Man)

Three weeks ago . . .

Surfacing, the first thing Ukyou did was take a deep breath and continue to stare into the sky. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know, but there was already no going back. 

When Genma had shown her the list of training grounds they had both highlighted one in particular. The trip through China had actually been kind of fun. She got to learn of a whole new culture and try new foods, adding some to her own repertoire. Then the day had come to finally look over this hauntingly beautiful training ground, Jusenkyou.

They made a deal. Genma went first and she was following through with her end now. Really, they both wanted the same thing, but a compromise had made things easier and it would look better when they returned to Japan.

The guide had been very helpful though a little confused. He was a squat, jolly looking fellow with green fatigues for himself and his little girl, Plum. There had to have been a hundred volumes of legends concerning these pools. She and Genma had read the ones concerning the pools they had fallen in themselves. 

"We should get going." Genma stood over her, pouring out the contents of a kettle over his head. The guide took it back and they left silently.

Present day . . .

Soun looked back and fourth between his three daughters who each had a very displeased look on their faces. The doorbell ringing saved him. "That must be them now!"

Nabiki was hot on his heels as they headed for the front door. It was a cold and wet day. The rain came down in buckets. Weather in Nerima had gotten really fickle lately and the news was baffled to explain it.

Soun opened the door with a flourish and beamed onto the two, who stood before him, and then he opened his eyes. 

"Growf."

"It's a panda." Nabiki stated, somewhat surprised. She hadn't been sure what to expect from these traveling martial artist friends of her father's but this hadn't been it by a long shot.

"Uh, hi." A young man, lean and tall with strong arms, bowed politely and introduced himself. The long black ponytail falling to his waist slipped over one shoulder. "I'm Ranma Saotome. May we come in?"

Nabiki sidestepped her father who fell unconscious to the floor and moved in closer to inspect the young man. He was cute, definitely, but something about him seemed a little 'off'. 

"Oh, father feinted." Kasumi entered the hallway to find her father flat on his back. She looked over the young man and his ...panda, then set it aside for later. "Could you help me move him, Akane?"

~

"Genma?" Soun poked his friend's arm to be sure it wasn't an illusion. "So that is you. How did it happen?"

Genma sipped his tea and watched the reaction of the group before him. The Tendou daughters were shocked, but clearly interested in hearing how he had acquired such an odd curse. His 'son' was looking at the three girls with a strange, contemplative look on his face. It was amazing how little the girl had changed, but how much those little things had affected her appearance. Given, she had passed as a boy often enough, but now it was more complete.

Ranma tuned out Genma's explanation of events. She helped him rehearse and so knew it by heart. She was more interested in the three across from her. It was strange to think she might be marrying one of them. Only weeks ago she would be doing all the same things as any normal girl, flirting with boys, gossiping with friends, and gorging herself on ice cream on occasion. 

She . . He. Ukyou had to stop thinking of herself as a girl; she was a boy now. She . . He was Ranma now. Ranma wondered if the real Ranma would have liked any of these girls. Akane was a bit of a hot head, but she was cute when she wasn't scowling. Nabiki was like watching a shark circling the water over head. The eldest, Kasumi, was a regular homemaker, non-aggressive person who looked like she'd swallowed one too many tranquilizers for the wrong reasons. Ranma bet the real Ranma would have found the good in them all despite their personal faults and remained with whoever ended up with him for honors sake at the very least. 

"Does Ranma have a curse?" Nabiki asked as Genma finished. Soun paused in his own question when he considered the importance of this one. 

Ranma smiled and nodded. They had expected this. "I turn into a girl when splashed with warm water and cold water returns me to normal."

"Why is it different from your father's?" Kasumi asked with a slightly strained smile. Knowledge of magic was obviously unhinging her 'tranquility'. 

Shrugging, Ranma pretended to look for an answer and then give up. "It's magic. Who knows how it works."

"You got the better end of the deal then."

He nodded to Nabiki. The middle Tendou was obviously referring to how hard it would be to lose his 'natural' form. "Guess so."

"Well then." Soun finally spoke, patting Ranma on the back and gesturing to his daughters. "This is Kasumi, nineteen, Nabiki, seventeen, and Akane, sixteen. Choose the one you like and she will be your fiancée."

Ranma winced slightly, but nodded and looked back to the girls. Akane was once again scowling. Nabiki seemed only slightly disappointed, but continued to look him over with calculating eyes and Kasumi just stood there, smiling faintly and staring at nothing.

Man amongst men, Ranma told himself again.

~

The sky had cleared up and Ranma sat outside with his feet hanging over the patio. His head was tilted down to look into the koi pond outside. The three girls tried to return to normal though they sometimes looked out the shogi to stare at him.

Genma returned from the kitchen with a bag of ice in one hand. He handed it down to Ranma before sitting. 

Ranma lifted his head to display a purple shiner over his left eye. He hissed with the temperature of the ice on his bruise. 

"I said 'man amongst men'." Genma began with an amused voice. "But that was just plain suicidal."

Ranma scowled as the man barked out some laughter. He considered tossing the fat martial artist into the pond to get acquainted with the koi. Though he was beginning to really regret asking for all three girls. The real Ranma wouldn't have tried to juggle so many women like that. He'd screwed up already.

"Still." Genma patted Ranma on the shoulder reassuringly. After losing his real son, he'd begun to open up a little more to his new 'son'. "Nodoka should be happy. I'll give her a call tomorrow to tell her where we are."

Ranma nodded. This part he was really looking forward to. A real mom. He hadn't had one even when he was a girl working with her father making okonomiyaki on the yatai. He hoped he wouldn't screw up again.

He stood up and smirked at his 'father'. "I need a bath. Later pops."

~

The nerve of that boy, Akane thought. What the hell was wrong with him? Asking for all three of them was the stupidest, most perverted (outside of Kuno) thing she'd ever heard of. What girl in their right mind would even consider such a thing? It didn't help that her father had laughed and patted Ranma on the back like it was the best answer he could ask for. Akane wasn't certain, but she thought she saw her father consider the idea.

After the meeting, Akane had gone straight out to the dojo for a little practice. She was actually a little interested to see how good Ranma was. Obviously she was better, Ranma was the one wearing a shiner, but maybe he could give her a decent match. She snorted at the thought. Ranma would probably fold like all the other perverts.

Twelve cinder blocks later Nabiki had entered the dojo and tossed a towel. Akane nodded, she likely did smell. This was probably what she needed anyway, a good soak to wipe away the day.

Akane entered the antechamber of the furo, missing the clothes left on the bench as she removed her own. Towel in hand, Akane was ready for a nice long soak.

The door opened.

Akane stood there a moment in silence staring at the young woman sitting in their furo. Long brown hair spilled down around her shoulders to lie upon the water like a spider web. She sat facing away from Akane, staring at the opposite wall, her elbows resting on the furo wall. Akane could see the woman was tall though she was sitting down. She also had a lean and muscular back with a few scars.

It was quiet for a few minutes while Akane tried to figure out what to do about this person. Who she was still hadn't occurred to her. A few minutes were obviously more than some people could handle. The door squeaked to allow another person inside. Both Akane and the woman were distracted from their musing.

Her cover blown, Nabiki tried to make the most of it. "So, what have you two been doing in here together for so long?" She smirked at Akane who looked completely lost, and then she looked to the young woman in the bath. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were somebody else."

"Excuse me, Nabiki." Kasumi entered behind her with a set of freshly washed and dried clothing. "What are you doing in here? Did Ranma already finish?"

Ranma blinked as all three turned back around to stare at her. She raised a hand to give a small wave. "Uh, hi."

That was about all she got out until a wash bucket connected with her forehead.

Chapter Two

(Victor of the Day)

Ranma was on the fence heading for school the next morning with Nabiki walking beside him on the ground. He was rather certain that the real Ranma would take advantage of everything that would make him better at anything, and he was despairingly far behind in school.

The morning exercises with Genma went by quickly, ending with a fat panda yowling from the koi pond. Rather than wait or risk another embarrassing moment, Ranma rushed up to the furo and washed himself off with cold water, skipping the warm bath this time. He left just in time to avoid Akane return from her morning jog. That didn't mean that Akane still wasn't angry with him for some reason. How the girl ever expected to find someone she liked was beyond him.

After an even quicker breakfast that was fought over with Genma, Ranma tagged along with Nabiki who was heading to school early for some reason. Tendou-san had gotten him a uniform and book bag somehow; he'd have to remember to do something to thank him. Maybe they'd all enjoy some of his cooking.

When they entered the school it was slowly beginning to fill with students. Nabiki was about to head over to her usual spot on the rooftop to view the daily beating when she remembered Ranma behind her. "Well, Ranma-kun you're already registered so all you have to do is follow Akane to class when she gets here."

"Oh." Ranma nodded and went to stand over beside the tree near the front doors of the school. He knew when he was being brushed off and considering the uneasy relationship he already had with the Tendou's, did as told. 

Nabiki gave him a last look over before heading into the school and up to the roof.

A half-hour passed before Akane finally arrived. Ranma straightened up to go and meet her when he heard someone step behind the tree he'd been leaning against and begin praying. It sounded like 'I will have you this time my fierce Akane Tendou. You shall fall before my love and together we shall . . .' Ranma gagged and moved off a bit. Though it seemed impossible, he decided to see if this boy was the reason for Akane's anger. Maybe she was seeing him and thought the engagement would pull them apart. 

Two battle cries resounded through the school. Ranma looked back to the crowd that had been growing and realized they were all boys. "Let my fist display my love!" "Our love will grow when you are unconscious!" "Let my love find your solar plexus and drive you into the ground!"

At least they weren't as bad as poetry boy behind the tree, Ranma thought.

Bodies were being tossed around the courtyard as the fight got underway. Ranma still couldn't see who was in the melee, but they sounded brutish to the point of being a gorilla. The boys continued to shout out their oxymoronic proclamations of love and then fly off across the ground. Nearly three minutes of this built up quite a bit of dust. When it cleared, the last of the hentai group was unconscious at the hands of a cute girl with a book bag.

Akane snorted in disgust and slipped a stray lock of her blue hair behind her left ear. These morning 'exercises' were really starting to get on her nerves.

"Such a borish lot. They seemed to think they could beat a fierce tigress such as yourself when it is already proclaimed as my right." The poetry boy, a tall kendoist, bokken in hand, stepped out from behind the tree to address Akane. He tossed a rose through the air, which Akane caught without thinking about it. Her scowl only deepened as she saw him.

"Kuno-sempai." Akane growled out.

"Hey, Akane!" Ranma called out from the school steps. "Could you make it quick? I need ya to show me how to get to class!" Actually, he didn't need the help, but the new guy bothered him. This Kuno was not the same unskilled fighter the others were. 

Before Akane could answer, Kuno turned on Ranma and stuck his bokken at him. "You there. You are being quite common with Akane Tendou. Does a peasant, such as yourself, not realize how to treat your betters? I would have your name cur, before I beat you for your insolence."

"Huh?"

Kuno put a hand to his forehead, probably to pose like he was thinking, but looked more like he was constipated. "Oh, but it is proper for one to introduce thyself first. I am the Rising Star of the Kendo Club, Morning Sun of . . ."

Ranma looked to Akane for an explanation, but she seemed somewhere between exasperated at Kuno's long-winded speech and angry for Ranma's presence. 

". Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen." Kuno concluded with his bokken raised to the sky and a shot of lightning striking the ground behind him. That was actually kind of cool until Kuno's eyes started to water and a bit of smoke rose from where he'd been struck in the butt.

"Well." Ranma stood up to face his opponent. Man amongst men, he reminded himself. "My name is Ranma Saotome." He jumped over Kuno's first swipe. "I'm staying at the Tendou dojo." Kuno shouted and struck again, but Ranma ducked this time. "And I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." He tossed his book bag to Akane. "Hold this for me, will ya?" Ranma dodged a straight jab and twirled into a ready stance. "And I accept your challenge."

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead. 

~

"Class." The teacher addressed her students as the bell rang for school to start. "This is a new student who just returned from a training trip to China. So lets give him a warm Nihao to our school."

Ranma bowed, his name written in kanji on the blackboard behind him. "Nice ta meet ya. I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts and the best okonomiyaki cook in Japan." He finished the last part with a smirk and pulled out a grill from pocket space, whipping out enough of his favorite dishes for everybody to enjoy in less than a minute.

The mood of the class, which had been divided over what the new cute male student may mean to their precious balance, was lightened immediately as everyone took bites of their okonomiyaki. The teacher was also pleasantly surprised. "Well, thank you very much, Saotome-san, and it was good of you to arrive on time for your first day of class. Please have a seat by the window next to Tendou-san."

Ranma nodded and walked over. The girls followed him with dreamy eyes while the boys thought he was just a cool guy. No wonder he'd beaten that moron Kuno.

Akane seemed to find something to get mad at, but at least she was keeping it to herself this time.

Nabiki sat behind her desk, smirking at the school idiot. He was fingering something on his forehead with a scowl. His hair and clothing was a little damp from the rain, wallet lighter from Nabiki's help to the nurse's office. She was actually preparing to get a little more money off the moron.

"The lowly peasant." Kuno growled, looking at himself in a mirror. Students around him looked very amused and gossiped despite the teacher's presence. The topic was clearly of Ranma. "He can not even spell properly."

Nabiki followed him to the blackboard where Kuno picked up a piece of chalk. She watched him write. 

"This is how you spell buffoon." Kuno proclaimed with a flourish.

Nabiki shook her head. "Actually, Ranma spelled it right."

"I despise you."

Nabiki shrugged. "Whatever, I got some information on Akane you might find interesting, and it'll only cost you two thousand yen."

~

"And that was how the Meiji era ended the-" The teacher was cut off by a very rude door that suddenly exploded. Ranma, as well as the rest of the class, looked up to see Kuno standing there in his hakima, the bokken still held in its downward swing. He eyed the class, focusing on Ranma and pointing.

"Foul dog! I deny you this union with the fair Akane Tendou. Know that Kuno shall not stand for such an engagement of obvious farce!"

Akane dropped her head onto the desk and started to repeatedly beat it with her forehead. The rest of the class was surrounding her desk as well as Ranma's and asking for details.

Man amongst men, Ranma thought. "Heh, actually I'm engaged to all the Tendou daughters."

The class fell silent except for the desk finally snapping beneath Akane's head. 

"You monstrosity! To pollute Akane's life thus and then look for others to satisfy your desires, it is a pungent mark on your soul, dishonorable heathen! No Kuno would ever fall so low as to abuse the femininity of young women!"

"Ain't my fault if people don't like ya." Ranma returned, half following Kuno's speeches. 

Bringing the bokken to ready. "Prepare yourself to be thwarted villain!"

Ranma had to duck out of his desk quickly as Kuno took a swipe with his bokken. The desk fell in two pieces and the students backed off quickly. "Not in here, you moron!" Ranma yelled and kicked Kuno in the back of the head and sending him through an open window.

Frowning, Ranma looked out the window to see Kuno lying on the concrete and twitching; he'd be fine in a little while. Ranma almost smirked until a large mallet impacted with his face and sent him barreling out of the classroom.

~

"Nothing like a little free advertising." Nabiki mused allowed while handing out another pamphlet she had ready about Ranma Saotome. The boy was making her more money than she'd expected. The little bit about being engaged to all the Tendou girls was easily handled and turned out to have it's own bit of a profit margin. It turned out a lot of people were interested in her relationship with Ranma, mostly the feminist community, she noted sourly. But money was money.

The lunch period was just getting started when her little moneymaker stumbled back into the school. Nabiki had heard about Akane's decision to give Ranma a little air after Kuno. She would have worked out a scheme to make sure Akane wasn't losing any profit for her if it weren't for the fact that Ranma wasn't a girl at the moment. The brown-haired girl, something she'd rarely seen, was lugging an unconscious Kuno over her shoulder.

So that's what happened to the water line, Nabiki thought. "You should have just left him out there." Nabiki muttered as Ranma passed by. "He's taken worse and been fine the next day."

"Oh, hey Nabiki." Ranma-chan acknowledged the girl with a nod and stopped to see what she was doing. "Maybe I'm just a nice person, though Kuno hardly deserves it. How did he find out about the engagement anyway?"

"Got me." Nabiki shrugged, though her smile was badly disguised.

Kuno began to stir.

"Well, I should get this bird brain to the nurse. Maybe she'll load him up with sedatives."

"Here's to wishful thinking." Nabiki held up her juice box.

"I fight on!" Kuno suddenly declared, waving his hands about until they found purchase.

Stock-still and wide-eyed, Ranma slowly looked down to see Kuno's hands on her breasts. "YOU PERVERT!"

He landed on the ground with a hard slam that shook Nabiki's stand. Kuno took a moment to consider what had just happened and came to the only conclusion he thought possible. "Ah, you were attempting to aid your betters as befits your position. Cheers to you young lady. To repay your kindness I shall allow thee to date me!"

Ranma-chan took a step back and looked horrified at the prospect. "Who would want to date you?!"

"I see." Kuno brought out a bokken from nowhere and held it aloft. "You desire to be beaten in combat and thus prove my affections. I charge!"

Back flipping over the first few swipes, Ranma quickly lost her surprise and became angry. "I wouldn't want to date a jackass like you if you were the last man on this earth!"

"I should hope not." Nabiki whispered to herself. At least the last part of her plan was finishing up nicely. She'd actually had a container of warm water ready to introduce Kuno to Ranma's better half.

Ranma rolled under another attack then leapt into the air. By this time many students had found some interest in the fight and were watching from the sidelines. 

As Kuno brought up his next attack, Ranma landed on the bokken and spring-boarded over Kuno's head to land both feet against his back. The kendoist crashed against the perimeter wall. He hung there a moment before slowly falling to the ground with a groan. "I think... I shall...rest now..."

Ranma-chan waved a hand through her hair as the crowd applauded and flashed a cocky grin. Sometimes life was really good.

~

The evening meal had been a success.

After coaxing Kasumi out of her kitchen, Ranma had gone about preparing her best okonomiyaki and a few Chinese dishes for those who could pack down a little more, pops and herself. Nabiki joined Tendou-san and Kasumi in praising his cooking skills, but Ranma was certain there was an ulterior motive in there. Akane ate, a lot, and then left in a huff when everyone said how good it was. Honestly, Akane was just confusing Ranma now.

During the meal he had studied the three girls and tried to work up some feelings that would help him choose. This was not how he saw his life as a child, but he wanted to do the real Ranma proud. Kasumi still bugged him a little; maybe it was the older sister like quality that made a future bond feel dirty. Whatever it was, at least a friendly humor could be kept between the two of them. 

The only real choices in Ranma's mind were Akane and Nabiki, and that was still pushing it, Ranma jokingly thought. Akane was a butch, angry, unworldly, prejudicial, obtuse, spoiled princess. Ranma had lost count of the number of times and reasons Akane had decided to get angry and use her mallet. All Ranma could think on this was 'one day down and a lifetime to go'. Somehow, the abusive relationship thing just didn't do anything for him.

Nabiki, it was much harder to pick up the abuse with this one. She was cold and clean in manner and dress. Throughout the whole day, whether Nabiki was at school in uniform or around the house in her short shorts, the girl was immaculate. Nothing was out of place unless she wanted it to be. On the one hand it was a nice trait to be so on top of things, but on the other Nabiki was underhanded and manipulative. She didn't have to work too hard to get the nickname Ice Queen apparently. Still, Ranma was trying to only see the good in people and thought of Nabiki paying the dojo's bills out of her own pocket. The mercenary quality was required after all, but did it have to be so uncaring? 

Ranma had tried to spend a little time with all of the sisters, but Nabiki had been the most adamant over her privacy. She didn't hit like Akane, or keep you out of danger like Kasumi, but Nabiki's emotionless stare had made Ranma feel uncomfortable from the moment it started to an hour after he'd left the girl's room. All he learned was that Nabiki ran the house. Tendou-san was just a figurehead, or a fountainhead depending on what you said to him.

From an entirely male perspective, Nabiki was a real bitch, but she had a nice rack. Maybe he could make her drop the attitude with a little encouragement.

"Ranma."

"Huh?" Ranma looked up to see Nabiki walking towards him with a letter neatly folded and sealed with wax.

"Here. Kuno paid me to deliver this to you. I only did it because I'm a little interested in what he had to say." She stated while handing the letter over.

Ranma opened it.

"Looks like a challenge." Akane said over Ranma's shoulder.

Ranma nodded. "For my girl side."

"How can you tell?" Akane asked.

Neutral, Ranma pointed out the acknowledgment, 'To my healthy, brown-haired goddess,' 

"Pervert." Akane snorted. "I thought he said he found two-timers disgusting."

"Guess he made an exception." Ranma frowned. It was time to go if he was going to fight with Kuno on the Furinkan soccer field. Nabiki and Akane decided they would join him.

~

On the open field, Ranma-chan stood in waiting for the challenger. Kuno was fashionably late; entering when he believed the proper moment had come. 

Akane and Nabiki stood to the sidelines with their own looks for the proceedings. 

"My pony-tailed goddess." Kuno began in a deeply resonating voice, a prop fan set up to his right for effect. "I would declare my intentions for you."

Ranma reacted quickly as she saw something traveling in her direction. Snatching it out of the air, she realized it was a dozen red roses. Did it feel warm to anyone else right now?

"I love you." Kuno spoke softly and turned to leave the field. 

Ranma could only fall to her knees and look at the wilting flowers blankly.

Chapter Three

(A Little Color)

Ranma awoke within the raging seas in the midst of some violent storm. Waves capped with white froth succored his strength as he attempted to remain above the water line. Time and again he spat out the salt water and coughed for breath. The sky above crackled with an ominous laugh. Another wave, greater than those before it, swept him beneath the surface and into a world of freezing cold.

Struggling, Ranma coughed back up to the air again, inhaling deeply for the burn of his lungs. Above, rays of pink and white broke through the blanket of clouds.

"I see through thy veil. Come to me now, my goddess!" Kuno bellowed, wind blasting from his mouth and raising another wave. He was like a looming mountain of everything Ranma felt queasy around.

"Get over yourself, you perverted JACKASS!" Ranma shouted back. His voice was too high. She looked down to see her curse vanished. Back within the sky, Kuno was reaching down with a large hand that could encompass her entire body. 

She shrieked.

~

"Are you all right, Ranma?" Akane asked from where she walked along the sidewalk, looking up to the pony-tailed martial artist on the fence. 

She'd seen him wake this morning rather upset. Genma hadn't lasted long against this Ranma, and Kasumi ended up serving another platter of bamboo shoots. After a quick bath and donning his uniform, Ranma had waited impatiently for her to finish as well. The sisters had wondered at this, and Akane could not decide if she wanted to mallet the pervert or not. He could very well have been waiting to get her by himself.

"Fine, Akane." Ranma nearly growled. He had his pack on tightly and held a dark cloud over his eyes. His gaze remained fixed on their destination until at last it came into view. "Let's hurry."

Wordlessly, Akane followed at Ranma's fast pace. She entirely forgot about her usual morning fight as she sensed the anger in Ranma's movements heighten.

The usual horde of boys was standing away from the gates unlike their usual waiting procedures. Kuno had taken a spot before the school doors, bokken out and waiting.

"Foul cretin, Saotome!" he lifted the wooden sword and aimed it at Ranma. "You shall no defeat at the hands of Ku-urk!"

"Hentai!" Ranma growled, landing on the kendoist's face and planting it into the ground. "You're not even a man compared to him!"

Akane and the group of boys blinked as they watched Kuno defeated in less than a second with Ranma standing on his face. No one moved a step to Akane after seeing the threat of an angry Ranma. It hadn't been their intention to get in Ranma's way anyway.

"Anyone else?" Ranma snarled, looking about the crowd of boys. All shook their heads quickly.

"No way, Ranma." One student spoke. "We just came here to congratulate you and wish the two of you the best."

This brought Ranma and Akane up short. "Huh?"

Up on the roof, Nabiki blinked and waited for the other shoe to drop. At least she hadn't really lost the bet since Kuno was beaten. Her lieutenants remained on stand by just in case.

"We won't be going after Akane anymore." The boy continued with a smile on his face. "If anyone had to win, we're glad it was you." And they all strolled into class, patting Ranma on the back and stepping on Kuno as they went.

As the courtyard emptied, Ranma looked over to Akane. "That was different."

Shrugging, Akane walked over to the unconscious Kuno and picked something out of his pocket. "Did you see this?"

"Hmm?"

Akane held a dozen pictures up for Ranma's inspection.

"Hey!" Ranma snatched them out of Akane's grasp and rifled through each. "These are all pictures of me!"

"And some of me." Akane snarled and kicked the kendoist across the field. "Nabiki."

Narrowing his eyes, Ranma ran into the school, a trail of dust following him in. He found who he was looking for only starting to exit the roof. Ranma leapt over Nabiki's cohorts and dragged the middle Tendou back out onto the roof for privacy.

"Do something for you, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked a little annoyed about being manhandled.

Ranma dropped her hand quickly and eyed the girl with a little worry. "You're taking pictures of me in my girl form."

Nabiki nodded with a smirk. "And?"

"You can't do that!" Ranma protested, crumpling the pictures in his hand. "It's my body and you have no right!"

"Oh?" Crossing her arms, Nabiki looked the boy over condescendingly. "And I suppose you have some other idea of how to pay for two free-loaders at a dojo already in the red?"

Ranma actually stopped and looked at the pictures in his hand. He sighed deeply in relief. "Is that why you did this?"

Nabiki nodded, a slight frown on her face.

"Oh." Ranma started laughing, embarrassed, and scratching the back of his head. "I thought..."

This must be a first, Nabiki thought, leaning over.

"I thought you were just a pervert!"

Schoolbooks clattered to the ground after following Nabiki to the floor. She was rather surprised to find herself face down on the floor when her brain started to work again.

"Well, you should have told me something." Ranma half-laughed, helping Nabiki back up. "I'm sure we can work out something better than this."

~

"Jackson city." the boy read with some difficulty. He usually didn't speak English. Someone in a large hat was getting frustrated and pointing quickly between his map and the sign.

Frowning, the boy bowed and left. English was definitely not the new language of Japan. Somehow, though, he knew this was all Ranma's fault.

~

On the way home, Nabiki decided to join Ranma and Akane. The talk during school had intrigued her a bit and increased her view of the young martial artist. If he was looking to really help out, then there were certainly more lucrative enterprises they could pursue. A male (or female depending) escort service came to mind.

Akane had been kept in the dark over the picture issue. She only seemed slightly upset about it, but without anyone except Kuno to blame she remained silent, much to Ranma's pleasure. 

This also prevented Akane from noticing her sister hanging off of Ranma's arm, an event certain to warrant another malleting in Akane's eyes. Ranma was not holding himself as stiffly now that the initial shock of Nabiki's hold had worn off. The only thing from keeping him from totally relaxing was the predatory look in the girl's eyes. She was trying to take control of the situation again. 

Man amongst men.

"Found you at last, Ranma!" 

Ranma glanced up into the air and gasped.

"NOW, PREPARE TO DIE!!"

A protest was on Nabiki's and Akane's lips until they noticed Ranma had carried them away before something would have landed on them. Something that left a three-foot crater in its wake. The dust settled to reveal a young man with fangs, bandanna over his brow, and a red bamboo umbrella sticking a few inches further into the pavement.

"Still good at running I see, Ranma." The boy commented snidely and pulled the umbrella from the ground, bits of dust clinging to the folds. 

"Friend of yours, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked, unconsciously grabbing Ranma's arm tighter. She'd never been so close to the fights as Akane.

Cocking his head, Ranma went through his memory, trying to match the face with a name. "He seems familiar."

The boy growled and hefted the umbrella like a bokken. "You abandon a duel of honor and forget my name?! DIE!"

Ranma neatly jumped over the thrust and landed on the other side of the battleground. "I remember you now!" He clapped his fist into a palm. "We were in middle school together! You're Ryouga Hibiki!"

Ryouga made another swipe with his umbrella and followed up with a kick when he saw Ranma duck. 

Rolling onto his side to avoid the kick, Ranma jumped back another few feet. "But I didn't run away from no duel. I waited there for you for three days!"

The crowd's whispering angered Ryouga further as he charged, pushing Ranma to the edge of the courtyard. "And when I arrived on the fourth day you were gone!"

The wall shattered, temporarily holding Ryouga's umbrella, and allowing Ranma to come in close. "We were gonna fight in yer backyard, jackass!"

"And I went through hell to get there!" Ryouga snapped back, ripping the umbrella free and missing another swipe to Ranma's head.

"This is stupid, Ryouga. You can't seriously be holding a grudge over the bread thing." Ranma ducked again and back-flipped to an open part of the school where they would have room to fight. 

"Nabiki?" Akane found her sister near one corner of the yard surrounded by students thrusting money into her face. 

Nabiki shrugged back at her sister and continued taking bets for the fight. People wanted to win some money back and after seeing Ranma's fight with Kuno they thought it would be easy money. Nabiki was offering three to one.

Rolling her eyes, Akane turned back to the fight to see the two boys squaring off. Ranma had easily dodged the umbrella's flight path with only a slight lean of his body. They were too far to hear most of the conversation except Ryouga's profuse declarations that he'd seen hell and it was somehow Ranma's fault.

"Man, this thing is heavy. I couldn't even budge it."

Over on the side Akane could see two boys attempting to lift Ryouga's umbrella after it collapsed onto the ground beside them. 

"Let me try." Akane braced herself over the umbrella and grabbed with both hands. She could move it no more than an inch before having to let it fall back to the ground. "That is heavy." Fear struck her and she called out to the field. "Ranma! Be careful! He's as strong as a monster!"

The warning came in time to help Ranma dodge another of Ryouga's punches. A small cut opened up on his cheek. "No problem, Akane!" He called back confidently.

"You won't be running this time, Ranma!" Ryouga snarled then slapped a bandanna around both of their wrists.

Eyeing the bond, Ranma grinned and dropped between Ryouga's legs to come back on top with the fanged boy face down in the dirt. "So who's runnin?"

"Damn you, Ranma! You dare to humiliate me?!" With a surprising push off with one hand, he and Ranma were in the air, rotating with the extra amount of freedom. Ryouga lashed out with a sidekick that should have connected. 

"Ha!" Ranma twisted in almost impossible ways. The bond was gone and he bounced off of Ryouga's face with his feet. "Gotta do better'n that, Ryouga!"

"Dodge these, Ranma!" Like magic, Ryouga began to peal bandanna after bandanna off of his forehead and launch them in Ranma's direction. The cursed martial artist yelped in surprise and started to twist through the air again. Ryouga followed after retrieving his umbrella and bouncing over the wall.

A geyser of steaming water followed an explosion. Nabiki frowned. "He hit another water main?"

Ryouga and Ranma stood opposite each other from the new school 'fountain'. Blinking, Ryouga took a careful look at the brown-haired girl who glared at him. "R-Ranma?" Strangely, it was this form that resembled his memories more than the other had.

"Yeah, it's me." Ranma-chan acted upset over the transformation. "Ain't it enough that I'm cursed to turn inta girl? You gotta have your revenge still?"

"You turn into a girl?" Ryouga cocked his head and leaned in closer. With the clothes Ranma was wearing and the hairstyle it was actually really hard to tell. If Ranma had been wearing a chest binder anymore the illusion would have been complete. "You call that a curse? What I wouldn't give to have a body like that!"

Ranma-chan jumped sideways to avoid another barrage of bandannas.

"Ranma! Are you alright?" Akane was running through the destruction.

Gasping, Ranma picked herself up and started to run. "Get out of here, you stupid tomboy! Yer gonna get yourself killed!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I'm a martial artist too!" Akane yelled back, stopping beside a tree.

"How dare you turn your back to me!" Ryouga roared and attacked again. 

Ranma could have blocked the umbrella, but that would leave her and Akane open to the bandannas behind it. With only a second to react, Ranma put both hands on the ground and kicked her legs up, flipping the umbrella into her hand just as she returned to her feet. The bandannas bounced harmlessly off of it. 

"What the hell did you think you were doing, you blind brute!" Ranma screamed at Akane. "Didja want to get your head cut off?!"

Scowling, Akane turned on her heel, tripping over a root. 

"Your too clumsy to get into a real martial arts fight!"

Wincing only slightly, Akane stood up, favoring her right leg, and glared at the cursed martial artist. "If that's the way you feel then you can just pick between my sisters, baka!"

Slice.

Ranma and Akane stared at each other for a long moment where the whole school went silent. A wind cut through the area and picked at Akane's short hair and the long mass that had fallen to the ground.

"Oh, geez. That looks bad." One student commented. More agreed and moved closer to see what sort of reaction Akane would make to having her pride cut short.

"What now?" Ryouga grumbled and walked in closer. "She doesn't look hurt."

"No." One student started. "But she got a real bad haircut."

"So?"

Others looked at Ryouga exasperated. "Don't you know anything about girls?"

Somberly, Akane reached up to touch the short hair. Almost disbelieving anything had happened at all.

Grabbing Akane's hand, Ranma patted it and tried to look into the other girl's eyes. "Akane? It ain't so bad." She said in a worried voice. "We'll get it neatened up and you'll be cuter'n ever."

Waking up slightly, Akane stared at the brown-haired girl curiously. She hadn't expected Ranma to be so.... Sensitive.

"And maybe next time you'll be smart enough not to get in the way of a martial artist fight." Ryouga remarked haughtily. 

A rush of wind blew Ranma's ponytail back. A loud thud indicated Ryouga's face meeting the ground. Blinking, Ranma looked between the unconscious Ryouga and the furious Akane. She began to sweat when she caught sight of Akane's mallet, metal glinted in the sunlight.

Akane lost her mallet in subspace and glared at Ranma. Her hand rose, but the steam ran out of her system. With a pained expression, Akane hobbled off for home.

~

Ranma-chan arrived home almost an hour later. She couldn't help but feel bad about what happened to Akane. Sure the tomboy should have known better, but the real Ranma would've been able to protect her better. She was screwing things up so badly. Perhaps Genma could help her train harder.

"Tadaima."

Kasumi walked into the hallway from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Greeting Ranma with a smile she took the young girl by the elbow. "There is a surprise waiting for you, Ranma."

Ranma wasn't in the mood for surprises. "Have you seen Akane? She sorta got a bad haircut today."

"Nothing I couldn't fix." 

Ranma looked up as they entered the living room. Kasumi was still smiling at her as if this was the greatest surprise in the world. Ranma blinked at the woman holding shears and trimming Akane's hair. Akane actually seemed a little nervous herself. "I didn't know barbers made house calls."

"Oh, that's not a barber." Kasumi chuckled, a hand over her mouth, eyes filled with mirth. "That's your mother. She came over as soon as she got your father's message."

Blinking, Ranma looked over the woman more carefully. She had a very stately appearance, formal kimono, hair bound behind her back, and a posture so straight Ranma thought the hangar might still be in there. "Mom?"

The woman looked surprised herself. She still held a piece of Akane's hair in her hands, shears in the other. Who was this girl with the long brown hair? Why would she call her mom? Then everything seemed clear. "Are you Nabiki? Did you and Ranma already marry? Oh, I'm so happy! Please come over hear daughter!"

Ranma barely had time to protest before the woman had crossed the room herself and was smothering her in a tight hug. All Ranma could get out was lost mumbling into the woman's chest.

"Someone say my name?" Nabiki walked in, a pair of short shorts and tank top that barely left anything to the imagination, but were great for yoga.

"Oh my." Kasumi gasped and pointed to Nabiki. "I'm sorry, but that is Nabiki."

Nodoka released the girl she had a hold of and turned to see the new girl. "Oh, yes. She is a more petite and healthy woman, isn't she? My Ranma must be so manly!" And she grabbed up a shocked Nabiki, hugging the girl tightly. "You four girls must be so close to my son to call me mom."

Ranma gasped for breath and used the table to get back to her feet. That woman had quite a grip. She must have really missed Ranma, not surprising after being gone for ten years. 

"Wait a moment." Nodoka said, releasing her hold on Nabiki, which the girl was quite grateful for. "I remember Soun only having three daughters." She turned to look at the brown-haired girl. "Then who are you?"

A deep breath, Ranma stood up to her full height and smiled at the woman. "I'm Ranma Saotome."

Nodoka stood silently.

"Oh, this." Ranma seemed to finally realize she was a she at the moment. A quick cup of water later and that was taken care of. "See, it's just a curse I got while pops an' me were travelin' through China." Ranma-kun opened his arms, expecting an excited woman to pick him up again.

"You are not my son."

Ranma stumbled and looked at his 'mother'. "Huh?" She couldn't have figured it out, could she?

Nodoka crossed her arms over her chest and looked angrily on the boy. "My Ranma has blue eyes, not brown."

"Huh?" Ranma cursed internally at the over sight. "Oh yeah. Weird stuff happened after the curse, but it's really me, uh, mom. Ask pops."

Nodoka was very unhappy. This was not her son and yet the boy was continuing with such an obvious deception. Did he think she would not know her own son? "Yes. Let's find my good for nothing husband and see if he can clear this up."

"Oh, they're in the backyard playing Go together, auntie." Kasumi piped in helpfully.

The door slid open and Nodoka walked out.

Akane had been sitting quietly in the chair Nodoka had been using to cut her hair. When she'd arrived she'd asked Kasumi to help her out, but Mrs. Saotome had been there and said she would take care of it. Everything had been going fine. Akane tried to be polite considering this was Ranma's mother who had not seen her son in a decade. This should be a happy reunion.

Things became awkward as the woman began to ask her how manly her son was. Akane worked it out that being 'manly' meant how many women had Ranma been peeping on. No wonder he was such a pervert. She'd tried to go along with it to keep the woman happy, telling her about the bathroom incident and the request to marry all three daughters. Nodoka had looked very relieved to hear that. She said something about a contract, but Akane hadn't caught much of it.

"Akane."

She looked up to see Ranma looking at her with worry and guilt. 

Ranma stumbled for words, hanging his head a little. "I'm really sorry bout what happened."

Still she was silent. 

Looking up, Ranma suddenly smiled. "You look pretty cute with short hair though."

That did make Akane feel a little better. Nodoka walked back into the room with her husband in tow before she could say anything though.

"So this really is my son?" Nodoka demanded, pointing at Ranma.

Genma nodded quickly. "Of course it is Nodoka. I-It's just a side-effect of the curse."

Silence filled the room, as Nodoka looked her son over carefully. "If I didn't already know from Akane what a manly son you were I might have you fulfill the contract for that curse."

Ranma looked puzzled. "Contract?"

"He did not tell you?" Nodoka arched an eyebrow then fixed her husband with a glare. "We all signed a contract that if Genma did not raise you to be a 'man amongst men' the both of you would commit seppuku to maintain honor."

Ranma swallowed and started thanking Akane a thousand times over in his head. Genma had mentioned a certain condition the real Ranma's mother wanted fulfilled; become a 'man amongst men'. This other crucial piece was definitely news to him. Ranma would really have to make all this up to Akane now. "Yep, that's me. 'Man amongst men', hehehe."

~

After Nodoka got over the initial shock of her cursed son, Akane had chosen to head for Tofu-sensei's and have her ankle looked at. It wasn't really that bad, but she felt depressed when Ranma and his mother started to have their reunion conversation. Nabiki and Kasumi stayed behind to watch. Kasumi made sense since she was supposed to be a hostess. It was Nabiki that was a surprise; she must be quite eager to continue whatever conversation she'd been having with Ranma earlier. Not that Akane cared; the pervert was engaged to all three of them.

Tofu had looked at her ankle and said it was nothing compared to the injuries she used to get. Akane nodded and smiled a little. He didn't really notice her haircut except that she was a cuter 'kid' because of it. 

He did notice the medical book in her hand. Handing it back, Akane relayed Kasumi's thanks, and the doctor's glasses began to fog up. She left quickly.

Now outside, Akane stood on the front landing for a second, looking at the darkening sky. It was getting late, time for dinner. 

"So, what did the doc say?" Ranma asked, sitting on the fence outside of the clinic. 

Akane looked up, startled to see anyone there. She hadn't been paying attention, thinking over her conversation with Toufuu-sensei. Sniffing, Akane said it was fine and started walking off, eyes fixed to the road ahead of her. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your mom?"

He shrugged. "Mom thought it would be manlier if I escorted ya back when you were through."

There was a hint of a smile on Akane's lips as she continued home.

"So." Ranma walked along the fence, twiddling his thumbs and staring into the sky. "Thanks for whatever ya told mom. I didn't know things were like that."

"Neither did I." Akane admitted. She'd thought the family was just perverted, but with the seppuku contract explained she had gotten very nervous for Ranma. He was a jerk, but killing him would be a big mistake.

"Whaddya say we go out to the mall this weekend and I buy lunch for us?" Ranma continued to look ahead as Akane stopped to stare at him. "I need to get some things anyway."

"You're taking me out? Why?"

Ranma finally looked down at the girl. "Why not? Since we're just friends now. This is the kinda stuff friends do ain't it?"

"Just friends?" Akane blinked.

Nodding, Ranma started to walk off again. "Yeah, now that ya said ya don't wanna be engaged ta me."

"Oh." Akane walked after the cursed boy, feeling somehow emptier than she had been.

Chapter Four

(Mind and the Body)

They both returned in time for dinner. Kasumi had just finished setting down the sukiyaki as they entered the dining room to join everyone else. Nodoka was sitting down near her husband, next to Akane's seat.

Smirking at the two, Nabiki called Ranma's attention and waved him over to her side. "Won't you sit down next to me, Ranma-kun."

Ranma and Akane boggled at the sudden pleasant offer. Very strange coming from Nabiki. Soun started to cry in joy.

Akane did notice that Ranma wouldn't be able to sit next to her anyway, with Nodoka in the way. She sighed and sat down across from Nabiki. "What are you up to now, Nabiki?"

"What ever do you mean, sister dear?" Nabiki asked with a sly smirk. "He is mine and Kasumi's fiancé so he should at least sit between the two of us."

Nodoka looked between the girls, Akane glaring at the predatory grin of Nabiki's. "Isn't Akane also engaged to my son?"

"Not any more." Nabiki spoke up before Akane. "Akane decided to give up since she didn't get along so well with him. Too manly for her I think."

Understanding lit Nodoka's face and she patted Akane's arm. "It's okay, dear. You won't think men are so bad when you're older."

Akane sputtered as Nabiki chuckled.

"Mom." Ranma sat down beside Nabiki reluctantly. "Akane and I just want to be friends. 'Sides, she's got plenty of boys after her at school." 

Nabiki admired the way Ranma twisted his words just enough so to not really lie to his mother. Through dinner Ranma was telling stories of his travels with Genma at his mother's behest. Nodoka was eager to know as much about her son as possible, which gave Nabiki a good opportunity to compile some more information on her new fiancé. There were a few perverted adventures that made Nodoka smile broadly, but Nabiki thought they were probably edited in for her benefit. Or, at least, Ranma didn't seem like the type to break into girls locker rooms to steal underwear from a bunch of half-naked girls and then call it speed training. 

He was, Nabiki noted thoughtfully, taking his training in the martial arts with more dedication than anyone else she knew. Ranma and his father had gone to some real extremes in the name of the Art. Nabiki eyed the two Saotome males incredulously as stories of being tied to trains and swimming from China came up in conversation.

To the end, Kasumi began to clear the plates with help from Nodoka, who insisted. Nabiki noticed Ranma had not eaten much. In fact, his hands still held the chopsticks over a piece of food still on the plate. As his mother left, Ranma took a deep breath and set the sticks down. 

An idea came to mind to help Ranma calm down and continue that talk from earlier. Rising, Nabiki took Ranma's hand. "C'mon Ranma. Wash my back and I'll wash yours." Everything was a deal.

Ranma tensed up again, his fingers going lifeless and his face flushing. "W-What?!"

"Such a manly son." Nodoka had that twinkle in her eye again. The one Ranma understood to mean she wanted him to prove her right, or else.

Cracking a nervous smile, Ranma tried to speak, croaked, and finally settled for nodding. He cast a glance over to Genma who blinked and indicated he should go. Kasumi looked blank again, maybe she was at a loss since Nabiki was the one to ask or maybe she really didn't know anything was wrong. Ranma didn't have to look at Akane to know she was angry; the danger sense of his was blaring loudly.

"Well, this ought to be fun." Nabiki smirked at the trembling boy as the furo door closed.

Ranma looked up, lost to figure out how he had gotten here already until he saw Nabiki disrobing. He backed away quickly as she started to walk towards him, completely nude. "W-Wait. I mean, uh, this ain't, uh, right. W-We're n-not even m-m-married yet!"

"Not yet?" Nabiki asked with an amused tone. She was not the same immature girl as those she went to school with. Nabiki liked her body and didn't mind showing off a bit, or using it to get what she wanted. "Well, we certainly do sound hopeful, don't we Ranma-kun?"

Ranma balked and Nabiki knocked him into the furo. Hot water enveloped his body, triggering the magic and revealing a cute brown-haired girl.

Nabiki laughed and threw a bucket of cold water over her head and started using the soap. "You don't think I'd lock poor defenseless me in here with a pervert boy, do you?" She tossed him the washcloth and turned her back. "Now, about that back wash..."

~

With the table cleared and the dishes washed, Nodoka and Kasumi entered the living room, each with their own contemplative expressions. Nodoka gestured to a place on the couch, and Kasumi nodded, following the older woman's lead.

"And how are you taking all of this, Kasumi-chan?" Nodoka asked. The TV was on with Akane lying on the ground before it, her legs kicking in the air occasionally. Nodoka noticed that Akane was only giving the program scant attention as her gaze went back towards the furo. There was a sound that could have been heard more clearly if Akane hadn't suddenly decided to up the volume a little.

Sitting properly, Kasumi just offered a smile. "All of what, Auntie?"

"Your engagement to my son."

Kasumi had gotten a vacant expression for a moment, then blinked, looking back at Nodoka. "Oh, I'm sure he doesn't want someone so much older than himself." She smoothed her dress and watched the television. "Besides, Ranma and Nabiki seem to be getting along."

Nodoka almost thought she heard Akane mutter 'getting it on', but dismissed it as being obvious for such a manly son. Too bad really. Akane would have made such a cute little bride, and her hips were perfect for bearing children. Lord knows Akane would have benefited from one of the side effects of pregnancy; but she still had time to develop, surely.

"Oh, don't say that, Kasumi." She patted the girl's hand. "I'm sure if you really loved my son so much he would let you be his mistress. You are a very good cook."

Kasumi almost stood up to check the thermostat. It felt very warm all of a sudden. "I... I'll keep that in mind, Auntie." A strained little smile on her face.

~

Ranma-chan tensed badly as she sat back down in the furo without her clothes this time. Nabiki had washed her back with warm water when Ranma had finished doing the same for the middle Tendou. Now it was time for a 'good long soak' as Nabiki said it. It didn't help that the girl had been licking her lips while she said it.

Back to Nabiki, Ranma heard the girl hiss with her body descending into the furo behind her. The water rippled and reached higher up the sides. Swallowing, Ranma began her mantra yet again.

Nabiki was very aware of the tension she'd been placing upon Ranma. It would make it easier to deal with him and she got a little thrill in return. Placing a leg on either side of the cursed boy, she pulled the brown-haired beauty in closer with her arms, stroking her hands over the hard, flat stomach. Yes, Ranma-chan would be a great and lucrative model. 

"So?" She purred into Ranma's ears and watched them turn red up to the tips. "What was this idea of yours, Ranma-chan? We were so distracted" Her hands ran up Ranma's sides, nearly brushing the girl's breasts. "That you never got around to telling me."

Ranma could feel herself burning up with embarrassment at the awkward scene. She knew that being Ranma meant she would have to marry a girl, but she'd hoped for a little more time to adjust. She was uncertain if it was better that she remained a girl or not. At least if she were a guy right now it wouldn't seem so perverted.

Throat gone dry, Ranma could not swallow so cleared her throat instead. "Well." She squeaked badly, hitting notes she'd never had before. 

"Just relax, Ranma-kun." Nabiki cooed, bringing her hands over Ranma's breasts and kneading them pleasurably. "I'm here for you."

Ranma coughed and resisted the urge to pull the hands away and run screaming out of the house, clothes or not. "Well, I-I was th-thinkin we could, uh, mmmm" She blinked and blushed further after realizing she'd moaned at Nabiki's ministrations. "thinkin with my, uh, sskillsss-"

Nabiki nearly laughed aloud as she tweaked the cursed boy's nipples and watched her shudder, unconsciously pressing up against Nabiki's hands. "Which skills, Ranma-chan?" A hand left Ranma's breasts and drifted below the girl's waist. "You seem to be multi-talented."

Ranma lurched forward with the new sensations. "Wecouldopena-restaurantwithmyokonomiyakiandmakeafortunewiththeteenagersandyour-money-handlingexpertise!"

"Enjoy that, did you?" Nabiki laughed and pulled the girl in closer. She hated to admit it, but she was having fun with Ranma in her arms. Her body had become very aroused with the cursed boy's plan out. It was a good idea since she'd sampled the food before. "But why not just do the modeling?"

Ranma's breathing was slowly returning to normal, but never quite getting there with Nabiki's hands still roaming her body. "I c-couldn't do that, and b-besides... mom wouldn't think it was, mmm-manly."

"I suppose not." Nabiki admitted. Ranma's mother was a bit strange. Who knew how the woman would see Ranma doing half of things she had wanted the cursed boy to do. "Still..."

Ranma paused as Nabiki stopped moving her hands but left them in various locations. 

"That sort of enterprise requires some starting money." Her hands returned to rubbing though she hadn't thought of it. "Where would we get that much capital?"

"I-I have some t-tucked away."

Smiling, Nabiki nuzzled the girl's neck and nipped at her earlobes. She could get used to this. Ranma was talking so sexy to her. Nabiki loved money. "But it will take more than just a few thousand yen, Ranma-chan."

Groaning, Ranma slid her hands over Nabiki's thighs where they came to clutch her around the waist. Her back pressed back into Nabiki's chest, rubbing the hard nipples with little movements. "I've got more than enough in the bank." She moaned.

"How much?" Nabiki insisted, increasing her pace.

"Half a million yen." Ranma groaned louder and arched her back towards Nabiki's hands. "Plenty for supplies and show faith with a bank to get a loan for the rest."

"Mmm." Nabiki purred, sliding her body around Ranma's until she had the girl sitting sidesaddle in her lap. "All this talk of money is making me hungry." She licked her lips and leaned.

Ranma stared at the girl nervously and the predatory look in her eyes. "W-What are ya gonna do?"

"Why, I'm going to milk you, Ranma-chan." Nabiki smiled and took a nipple into her mouth.

~

It was nearly an hour later when Ranma and Nabiki walked out of the furo. They both wore terry robes and a certain after glow. Nodoka looked up from her conversation with Kasumi as they stepped into the living room. Soun and Genma sat over beside the Shogi board, each with a mouth agape. Akane, at the TV, was burning red.

"Well, my son." Nodoka looked at Nabiki then back to Ranma. "You seem content."

"I'm a little tired, mom." Ranma mumbled, pulling the terry robe in tighter around her body. "I think I'll go to bed early."

"But is it manly to stay a girl like this, my son?" Nodoka asked, not at all pleased with Ranma's appearance. It did make it easier for her to see Nabiki follow in just a robe herself.

"Oh, s-sure it is mom." Ranma swallowed and tried to keep her eyes on Nodoka while she felt a pressure against her butt. "I m-mean, what if one a my fiancées get a little, uh, frisky at night? Can't have them lose their honor over me, right?"

Thinking, Nodoka looked at Kasumi who's face was turning red, as was Akane's she noted, and then Nabiki with a lecherous smile still on her face. "What about just now in the furo, son?"

"I was a girl for that too, mom." Ranma blushed. 

Nodoka smiled. "Such a manly son to be so considerate over his fiancées' honor. We should set the wedding soon. I know how much you must be anticipating your wedding night!"

"Ha!" Nabiki threw an arm around Ranma-chan's neck and smiled. "Ranma keeps talking dirty to me the way he does and it won't be my honor you have to worry about!"

Groaning, Ranma shook her head and headed for the guestroom upstairs. 

"You actually might want to stay in the dojo now, Ranma." Genma commented as he placed a stone on the board. 

Ranma looked at the balding man. "My things?"

"Already out there."

Sighing, Ranma nodded and left for the dojo. Nabiki smacked her on the butt on the way out, laughing. "Later, partner."

~

As the last of the lights went out, Ryouga sat staring at the dojo for another half-hour to be certain. Nothing was going to stop him from getting his revenge.

The shoji opened quietly enough, only a little glimmer of moonlight creeping into the dojo's darkness with him. The heavy bamboo umbrella was waiting beside his pack outside of the compound; he wouldn't need it this time. Ranma was finally going to get what he deserved!

Standing over his enemy, Ryouga readied his fist over their head. A crackle of thunder crossed the room.

A loud thump hit the floor.

It was enough to startle Ranma awake. "What the hell?" She scanned the room quickly and found a boy on the dojo with a trickle of blood running from his nose. Startled, Ranma-chan put a hand to her chest and found her tank top out of place. 

Red with rage, Ranma-chan jumped to her feet and swung her left leg back a little. "PERVERT!"

The boy sailed into the backyard, towards the edge of the koi pond, but not before Ranma got an image of Ryouga's stupid bandanna. Muttering to herself, she stalked out of the dojo for a little more fight. 

~

The steps squeaked as Akane slowly crept down the stairs. She'd heard a scream from the dojo. It sounded like Ranma-chan. Who would be stupid enough to try and break into a martial arts dojo?

"Oh, Akane."

The youngest Tendou jumped, startled by her sister's voice. So much for being ready for anything, Akane frowned. Her hands re-gripped the bokken in her hands. "What are you two doing up?"

"We heard Ranma scream." Nabiki answered, dressed in one of her sheer bits of negligee and wielding the steel baton usually left in her handbag.

"It might be a burglar." Akane whispered.

"Here." Kasumi handed Akane a twenty-pound dumbbell. "This is heavier."

Blinking, Akane accepted the weight. "Thanks."

~

Facing off against Ryouga, Ranma went into a loose fighting stance, hands hanging around her hips. "What's the idea of picking a fight in the middle of the night, jackass!" she growled.

Another round of lightning flashed in the sky.

Snorting, Ryouga widened his stance and tensed the muscles in his arms. "Duels of honor don't know time! Prepare to die, Ran-urk!"

Ranma blinked in surprise as her opponent was knocked out of the air by something heavy and fell to the ground with the rain that had been gathering.

The blow was hard, but nothing Ryouga couldn't shrug off in a moment. He gasped as he felt the first drops of rain, however. Without explanation, Ryouga jumped to his feet and headed for the perimeter wall.

"Ranma!" Akane ran out of the house, as Ranma-chan became Ranma-kun. "Are you all right?'

"Sure Akane." He smiled at her then at the wall Ryouga had gone over. The 'Lost Boy' had looked to be shrinking on his way out. "I'll be right back. That Ryouga jerk needs to be taught a lesson." He bound over the wall.

~

"Poor P-chan." Akane kissed the piglet in her arms and nestled it closer to her chest. It was such a sweet little thing to stay so quiet after she'd hit it. 

That hadn't really been her fault. After seeing Ranma fight some burglar, Akane had been jumpy, and startled by the strange figure in her room. Lashing out, Akane connected with the little black piglet, surprised by its squeal. There didn't seem to be a bruise at least. It was, however, terribly wet and a little smelly.

The front door opened and shut with someone walking in, dripping wet. 

"Ranma?" Akane called out.

"Huh?" Ranma appeared around the corner, his tank top and shorts plastered to his skin by the water. Akane blushed and turned away, holding out the pig. "You're going to the furo before bed, right? Can you take P-chan with you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing, Akane." Ranma snagged the pig by its bandanna collar that seemed a little familiar to him. 

"Did you find Ryouga?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nah. Just yer neighbor's dog. It made a passable Ryouga though." He chuckled and walked off.

Akane shook her head and promptly forgot the strange comment.

~

Ranma-kun stripped out of his wet clothes and padded over to the furo, a bucket of soap ready to wash the piglet. The damned thing hadn't stopped glaring and biting him since Akane had handed it over. Bitten again on the finger, Ranma snorted and flipped it into the water. Stupid pig.

"Ranma!" A naked Ryouga resurfaced from the furo. 

Ranma fell back in surprise as he realized another naked man was in the furo with him. The fact it was a very angry Ryouga made him confused on whether or not he should find the situation embarrassing to be seen naked. Ranma compromised by staring at . . . him.

"What are you looking at you pervert!" Ryouga demanded, jumping back into the water. He hadn't thought that Ranma was.... That way.

"Nothing!" Ranma squeaked and looked away. He needed to think of something else quick. "So you did follow us to Jusenkyou."

"Because of you Ranma, I have seen hell!" His face was turning red with anger as he stared at his fists. "Now I turn into a pig and it's all your fault!"

"Hey!" Ranma jabbed a finger into Ryouga's chest, finding it impressively solid. "It ain't my fault a jackass like you decided to follow pops an me 'round. If ya hadn't been late for that damned duel we mighta gotten over this feud thing you got goin on! Besides," he sat back on his legs, crossing her arms over his chest. "it's not like I pushed ya into those damned ponds or nothin'!"

Ryouga grumbled, not ready to concede the truth. "I went after you, tracking you through the jungles until I came to the cliff overlooking Jusenkyou and at that exact moment the cliff broke apart and I almost fell into one of those ponds, but someone grabbed me." Ryouga suddenly looked a bit guilty for some reason, but pushed it aside for the moment. "Anyway, I ended up tripping into another pool anyway and now my life is hell, and it is all your fault!"

Ranma gasped as Ryouga's arm shot out to grab him by the throat. He knew a hundred different ways to break the hold, but it was barely strong enough to hold him as it was. He blinked in surprise, Ryouga wasn't this weak.

Ryouga seemed to be pondering something as he looked at his dripping hand around Ranma's neck. After a moment he looked down to Ranma's chest and then back up to the dripping hand. "You changed." He noted.

Noticing the new gender, Ranma tensed as she realized what Ryouga was getting at. "I-It's not what you think!"

Unmindful, Ryouga continued to go over things in his mind. "But this isn't your normal male form."

"It's magic, who knows how it works, hehehe!"

He grabbed her with both hands and threw her into the furo.

"What the hell didja do that for?!" Ranma screamed, still female.

"Your... You're not . . ." Ryouga was just moments from an overload. "You're not really a man!" Blood squirted out of his nose as his gaze went back down to Ranma's body. He passed out a moment later.

"Shut up, you pig!" Ranma screamed and began to throttle the boy.

"Ranma! What's going on in here!" Akane and the others ran in just then to see... "RANMA, YOU HENTAI!"

Ranma-chan blinked and took a moment to look at the shocked faces of the Tendous and her father staring with wide-eyes. She swallowed as she realized she was straddling Ryouga's waist, her hands around his throat, as he was passed out along the side of the furo.

This really didn't look good.

The two fathers left for the dojo intent on beating the bad thoughts out of their heads before the altar.

Nodoka passed the two men on her way to the furo to see what the commotion was about. She passed the three Tendou daughters who seemed locked in place. "Is everything alright in here?"

Ranma started to hyperventilate. "M-M-M-M-M . . ."

A cold chill went through Nodoka's spine as she saw her 'son' sitting astride some young man's lap, both naked. The grip on her katana tightened and she pushed her mouth into a straight line. "Join me in the dojo with your father, Ranma."

All others swallowed.

~

Scowling, Nabiki clenched and unclenched her hands and walked over to the boy. With a grunt, she yanked him out of the furo and laid Ryouga out across the floor. "That woman is cutting into my profits." She growled and slapped Ryouga across the face.

Shocked and a little embarrassed at watching her sister manhandle the nude Ryouga, Akane averted her eyes after a moment of study. "W-What are you d-doing?"

"Humph." Nabiki snorted and smacked the boy again; her hand was starting to sting. "If we don't get psycho-boy here awake we may not be able to stop Saotome-san from fulfilling that stupid contract."

"Contract?" Akane asked. Her eyes shot open as she recalled the afternoon's reunion. "You don't think she would really..."

"Ranma's mother is oddly traditional. I would say the odds were not in his favor." She slapped again.

"Oh my." Kasumi walked over and sat opposite Nabiki and added her own slaps to knock Ryouga's head one way as Nabiki hit it another.

Still blushing, Akane walked over and pinched Ryouga's nose closed. They only had to wait a moment until he sputtered back to consciousness. "You better get Ranma out of the mess you put him in."

Ryouga blinked as he looked up at three girls staring back down with their own looks of annoyance and distaste. Swallowing, he slowly thought over how uninhibited he felt and turned a rosy shade of embarrassment. "Ack!"

Kasumi handed the cowering boy a towel, which he took from her quickly. 

"W-What happened?" Ryouga swallowed and looked about the room. "Where is Ranma?"

Crossing her arms angrily and glaring, Nabiki couldn't help but think how pathetic this Ryouga seemed. All brawn and no brains, not like her Ranma. "He is in the dojo about to get his head cut off because of you."

More controlled, though not her usual sweetness, Kasumi added, "We need you to tell Ranma's mother that the two of you were fighting and not... doing what she thought you were doing." A blush crested her nose and cheeks as she thought about the last part.

"And you had better not have been doing what she thought you were doing." Akane growled, concerned for Ranma's life, angry at the position she found them in, and hurt that she could only call herself a friend. 

"We weren't doing anything I sw-... he?" Ryouga looked passed his waving hands at the three girls. Coming to a realization, he went silent and nodded. It was obvious these girls didn't know that Ranma was just a poor cute girl cursed to be a boy. What a cruel twist of fate!

"No time for this." Nabiki snapped and grabbed Ryouga's elbow to drag him towards the dojo. "You have to tell Saotome-san it was a misunderstanding before it's too late."

Inside the furo, Kasumi and Akane blinked at their sister's hasty rush out the door. Ryouga only kept up, most of his attention on the towel that almost slipped his grasp. Thinking, Kasumi cocked her head one way and spoke aloud. "Do you think Nabiki likes Ranma?"

Akane chose not to think about it and ran out the door, followed by Kasumi a moment later. They actually caught up with Nabiki dragging Ryouga towards the dojo who had been heading in the wrong direction. Readying themselves for the confrontation, Nabiki placed her hand on the shoji.

A slicing sound broke the silence.

Nabiki swallowed, frozen in place. She wanted to save her investment, but if they were too late, walking into a pile of dispatched bodies, Nabiki didn't want to see it.

Arguing voices shrilled through the thin material. Nabiki sighed as she heard both Ranma and his father's voices. 

~

"I'm tellin ya it ain't what it looked like!" Ranma-chan pleaded again. Her mother had ordered her to remain in her 'cursed' form during the ceremony. 

Nodoka gave Ranma-chan a harsh glare as she tapped the blade of her katana with a white powder. "Do not attempt to deceive me. This is your only way to redeem your honor."

"But Ryouga an me ain't like that!" Ranma argued back. "He came over tonight to beat me up! It was a fight! That's it!" If this didn't work, she was taking serious thought to abandoning this 'life'. She wasn't really Ranma Saotome so she didn't need to die!

"Yes, it's true, Nodoka!" Genma joined in. he was scrambling for ideas as badly as Ranma was. They need the right sort of argument to prove Ranma's manliness to his wife. "Why, Ranma is so manly that even his cursed form draws in a lot of girls! And talk about opportunity to peep on girls!"

This actually got Nodoka to pause in her preparations. "Is this true?"

Jumping onto the wagon and latching herself to it with bolt and chain, Ranma nodded eagerly and stood up. "Oh, you bet! Watch!"

She crossed the dojo floor to the door and pulled it hard enough to rip it from its slide bar. Three girls suddenly stumbled into the room with the absence of the shoji to lean against. 

Without a thought, Ranma dove onto the pile of girls and started rubbing her face in all the cleavage she could, eventually entangling her head inside of Akane's top, ripping the flimsy negligee off of Nabiki and groping furiously while pressing her thigh between Kasumi's legs.

Ryouga had passed out long ago, blood draining from his nose like a geyser. It would be weeks before he could get by without thinking of the four half naked girls messing around on the floor without fainting. 

Genma stared wide-eyed then looked away quickly before he too passed out. Hopefully this worked because he had a sudden urge to prove his own manliness to his wife over and over again.

The click of a sword returning to the scabbard broke the cacophony. Ranma looked up to see the proud smile and slight tear on his mother's face. 

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, my son." Nodoka could barely contain herself and ran out of the room crying with joy. Genma followed a moment later

Soun stumbled in, a half-empty sake bottle in his hand. He was crying like an unrestrained dam. "Oh, poor Genma! How terrible to die like...Hey, where did they go?" Turning a little he found his girls and Ranma. "And poor Ranma!" Soun cried, patting where Ranma's head should be. 

It was there, but with half a bottle of sake down, Soun thought the third lump in Akane's shirt was an over-developed breast. He continued to cry and stumble out of the dojo, over Ryouga, and into the koi pond.

Sighing, Ranma disengaged herself from the Tendou girls and flopped onto her back. "I'm alive."

Akane and her sisters stood up, glaring at the cursed 'boy'. "We'll see about that."

Chapter Five

(Begin at the Beginning)

The morning slowly started to register in Ranma's brain as light poured in through the open dojo doors. Something was resting in the crook of her arm, shifting every now and then. Ranma suddenly lurched forward as the memories of last night's encounter with her 'mother' returned to her. The pig tumbled to the ground with a squeal of surprise.

Breathing deeply, Ranma fingered her neck expecting to find a cut. She only winced at the fading bruises that must have been Akane's doing. This once Ranma would admit she deserved it for half-molesting the sisters, but there had been that over-riding need to live. Oh well.

A cold nose poked her arm. 

Ranma looked down to see a little black piglet standing beside her. "Oh, Ryouga." She picked him up carefully and held him at eye level. "This mean we're buds again?"

The piglet nodded quickly.

"Hey, Akane." Ranma greeted as she walked into the house. Said Tendou was sitting down at the table for breakfast with Soun hidden behind a paper. Her father was probably with mother in the guestroom. 

Not getting a response, Ranma sat down beside the girl. "Aw, c'mon. You can't still be mad. Ya did get yer revenge, which I would rather than havin my head chopped off. Look," She held up the piglet. "I've got yer P-chan here."

Akane snatched away the piglet and cradled it against her chest. "Pervert."

"I'm sorry, all right?" Ranma looked a little annoyed with how difficult Akane was being. "You know what kind of a bind I was in. There weren't anythin else for me to do."

Akane almost conceded, but looked away, snorting.

"This ain't no way ta treat a friend, Akane." Ranma-chan grumbled. "But I'll make it up to ya this weekend like we planned."

Considering, Akane finally nodded. "My sisters too."

"Sister." Ranma countered. "I'm pretty sure Nabiki enjoyed it."

Akane glared. 

Waving her hands before her, Ranma nodded her head. "Yeah-yeah, sisters. I got it."

~

The door to the real estate agents snapped shut as Ranma and Nabiki left. Thanks to Nabiki's connections and bartering skills, they got a better deal than what the owners had been offering as a starting price. What a computer company was doing with a rundown restaurant neither would know.

With a last glance over her shoulder, Nabiki snorted and grabbed Ranma-kun's arm, storming off. "It sure is a whole lot easier to sign up a man as the stores owner, isn't it?"

This wasn't one of those questions Nabiki wanted answered, which Ranma smartly realized. He'd been getting nervous sweats as the exchange continued between the Tendou and the last owners. Only speaking to give information on what his information was and the new intent of the restaurant. Nabiki, who'd been growling almost from the start, answered all other questions, though asked of him.

"Uh." Ranma began after a short walk away from the offices. "So what now?" It had been a long day already, and he was looking forward to relaxing back at the dojo.

Missing his pleading look, Nabiki turned Ranma down another street of businesses. "Now we talk with an interior decorator."

Sighing, Ranma hung his head and let himself be led through another series of confrontations. At least the bank brokerage had gone smoothly enough despite the manager thinking they were a bit young. 

All of this negotiating; it almost didn't seem worth it to skip school. Ranma still had questions about how Nabiki had 'handled' that. 

~

That baka! Akane fumed in her seat on the couch, glaring at the innocent television that only had a desire to relay images. What did it ever do? Akane glared all the same.

After last night, Akane had decided Ranma owed her big time. He was lucky he hadn't been flattened the moment he showed his face this morning. So it didn't seem so bad when Nabiki said she and Ranma would be too busy to go to school today. A day without Ranma anywhere near her should've been relaxing, and instead she got stuck dealing with Kuno all day long! Somehow Akane had forgotten just how obsessed the moron was, but he'd just been dividing his attention between herself, Ranma, and Ranma-chan. 

It had been pure hell to hear his bad Shakespeare almost every five minutes.

"Tadaima!"

Akane surged to her feet and stomped into the hallway. Nabiki looked at her with an appraising look while Ranma barely seemed to register anything. Of course, at the moment Akane didn't care how Ranma looked so long as she found him. She grabbed his wrist and hauled the confused martial artist through the house and into the dojo. 

"Uh." Ranma-kun stood in the middle of the dojo watching the youngest Tendou sister begin some quick stretches and set up into a fighting stance. "Somethin wrong, sugar?"

"Sugar?" Akane blinked.

There was a small laugh at the shoji. Nabiki stood there having followed the two into the dojo. She was leaned up against the side with her arms crossed over her chest, a satisfied grin on her lips. Transactions with a lot of money did that to her. "Don't mind Ranma, Akane. It's just something he does with people he's close to."

Ranma-kun blinked then blushed. The terms of affection were sort of knee-jerk reactions, but he was just being friendly. 

Shaking her head, Akane focused in on the pony-tailed martial artist. "Whatever. Just don't call me that. Now let's fight!"

Ranma ducked under Akane's lead punch. "Don't call you what, sugar?"

Akane growled and through a sidekick.

Twisting slightly, Ranma tapped the inside of Akane's knee to throw her off-balance. "You don't like being my sugar?"

"Stop saying that and stand still!" Akane growled moving into another combination of attacks, each of which Ranma dodged without much trouble. 

"Why would I do that, sugar?" He was starting to become flashier with his movements, tossing in an extra twist or a flip for flavor. After a long day with Nabiki a good fight was what he needed. A smile sprouted and he weaved through another round of strikes, all the time calling Akane 'sugar' to her outrage.

Nabiki on the sidelines was grinning madly and sitting on the floor, unable to hold herself up with wobbly legs.

"Damn it, Ranma!" Akane huffed, missing with a leg sweep and being tapped in the forehead to fall backwards onto the ground. "Why don't you fight me for real?!"

Ranma's grin dropped a little. "Why? What's gotten inta ya, sugar?"

"Nothing! Now fight me!"

The reverse punch missed and Ranma jumped between Akane's defenses and grabbed both of her shoulders, concern in his eyes. "Tell me, Akane. Is something wrong?"

What...What was he doing?! Akane blinked in surprise and looked between Ranma's hands and eyes. The baka was concerned? He wants to talk to her, to help her? What is with this boy? Was it the curse that kept him from being a real perverted jerk like the rest? Or maybe...

"You just think I'm pathetic and I'd get hurt in a fight with you!" Akane snapped, her face burning red as she knocked away his hands.

Ranma backed up, waving his hands. "No that ain't it. I just thought something happened today that got ya mad or somethin! Honest, I think you're a...a fine fighter!"

"R-Really?" Akane jerked to a stop and stared at the boy. 

Nabiki coughed in the corner. "Or maybe she's still mad after you molested us last night."

Akane's anger returned.

"You're not helping, Nabiki." Ranma deadpanned, again moving between Akane's attacks.

~

It was late at night when Ryouga finally snuck away from Akane and found his way to the dojo. Ranma was still up, staring at the ceiling. He paused to note the differences between this male form and Ranma's normal body. Ryouga coughed to make himself known and strode forward with a warm kettle in his hand.

"Feel like a change?" He asked innocently, not really waiting for a response as he poured it over Ranma-kun's head.

Ranma-chan frowned and worked some of the water out of her hair and adjusted her clothing more comfortably. "Can I do something for you, Ryouga?" she asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Ranma." He paused, giving the brown-haired girl a pensive glance. "Is that even your name?"

Looking away, Ranma-chan nodded. "It is now."

"Why? How did this happen?" Ryouga pushed further.

Taking a deep breath, Ranma considered the question, as she had many times before arriving in Nerima. "When I was six, my father engaged me to a boy who was... everything to me." She pulled her feet in close, wrapping her arms around them. "We only knew each other for about a month. He and his father were on a training trip and they stopped in the area. I got to see a lot of him then. Every morning, and into the night, he would try to steal some okonomiyaki off of my father's yattai and I would chase him to get it back. It was just a game to us. The best time in my life.

"Have you ever known someone whose very presence could push away the clouds and bring out the sun? That was my fiancé. I lived to hear his laugh and watch him practice the Art like it was some beautiful and intricate dance. Only six and I could tell he was going to be amazing.

"His father started to come around on the last week to talk with mine. He and I didn't wait to listen in. Just spend time with each other, in play, talking, it didn't matter. 

"The last day, our fathers finally told us the big news. I had been engaged to my best friend. I don't know if we both understood then, but we were happy to know we would always be together. Or thought we would always be together." Ukyou paused to wipe a hand over her eyes to stop the tears that were about to fall.

Ryouga leaned forward and placed a hand over Ranma's. "What happened, Ranma?"

"My fiancé and his father left that evening after my father had drunk himself silly. At first I was sad and cried in the streets. I almost forgot they were on a training trip. So I figured that his father wanted to test me to see if I could join them on the road. I followed the yattai's tracks for a few hours until I was deep in the forest. It was where his father had been preparing some sort of training to teach him an invincible technique, but something went wrong.

"When I got there... he... he was already dead! His father was sitting beside the grave crying and when I realized what had happened, I was crying too. I couldn't stand it... Couldn't stand not being with him. I wanted him back. Wanted it so much.... I would have done anything."

Several moments were spent in silence except for Ranma's heart-breaking sobs. "Your fiancée's name was Ranma, wasn't it?"

Ukyou nodded, her face hidden in her arms as she rocked back and forth in her seat. 

"This is stupid, Ranma." Ryouga whispered. "I doubt he would have wanted you to do this to yourself."

Ranma narrowed her eyes and glared at the 'Lost Boy'. "What do you know?!"

Ryouga blinked and wondered where Ranma had gotten the glass of water he'd taken in the face. The cursed girl rolled over in her sleeping mat, clutching at her pillow and trying to force herself to sleep.

Chapter Six

(False Reflections)

Things were glamorized more to sell than to some real, useful effect. The raid of kids coming out of the toy store could have done without the latest action figure that would most likely sit in their room collecting dust. The young woman with her large bouncy hair didn't really need her fake diamond watch so she could pretend to fit in with a different crowd, the kind of crowd who owned the companies responsible for such a waste of materials.

Ranma stood in front of one of the shop windows, his reflection staring right back at him. Another group of teenagers walked by, laughing as they licked at ice cream cones and studied their newest cds. He saw these as a faded background to a blinking boy, blue silk Chinese shirt slightly too large; and thought the image would turn and walk away with them. 

The teens passed and the reflection remained. Ranma sighed. "Do I know you?"

~

"C'mon Ranma." Akane grabbed the cursed boy by the hand, ignoring her sister, Nabiki, who took the other with some show of affection. She bristled only slightly then caught sight of his smile. 

They walked further down the mall. Ranma had done as he promised and now she and her sisters were spending the day together in one of Tokyo's shopping districts. It was nice being like this again. Kasumi was not so quiet, Nabiki was not so cold, and she was not so upset.

"What were you looking at for so long anyway?"

"Huh?" Ranma blinked at Akane then turned back to the window he'd been standing before. "Nothin'. I was just waiting for you three." Frowning, he noticed it had been a dress shop.

"Oh." Nabiki chuckled. Probably having noticed what it was also. "Thought you might be looking for something... different."

Akane must have missed it; she pulled Ranma and Nabiki to the food court that had its selection of a number of different fast foods. Nabiki frowned at the sight. Kasumi sighed, but was otherwise quiet. 

"Well? What should we get?" Akane asked.

"You sure about this, sugar?" Ranma asked, frowning himself at the selection. "This sorta stuff will go straight to your thighs."

Nabiki laughed at her sister's shocked face and dragged them all in another direction. A half-hour later and they were all seated next to a window outside of the mall. By reaction of the restaurant's staff they could tell Nabiki had been there before. It was much more upscale, almost leaning to the unnecessarily pricey. The Tendou discount did take off some of the bite, a little.

"What's this again?" Akane asked, still unsure about leaving her bags with the host who'd met them at the door. 

Nabiki rolled her eyes behind her menu. Akane had taken the seat beside Ranma, but she sat across from him with Kasumi beside her. "Italian, Akane."

"Oh, I haven't had fettuccini in a while." Kasumi remarked, setting her menu aside. "Perhaps I should try making some more foreign dishes for dinner at home."

Looking over his menu, and fending off the foot beneath the table, Ranma glance up at the eldest sister. "I could help you there, Kasumi-chan. Plenty of Chinese dishes in my cookbook."

She smiled at him. "How nice!"

"Oops, sorry."

Ranma looked down at his female form and sighed. The man had spilt his coffee over her shirt and made it quite obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. "I should go somewhere to change."

Smiling, Nabiki caught Ranma's hand before the pony-tailed girl could leave. "Oh, I don't know. It might be more fun to have another girl along." Her smile broadened as a confused look came over Ranma's features. "Now where was that dress shop you were staring at?"

Ranma-chan swallowed nervously.

~

The shirt ruined, Nabiki had seen fit to purchase Ranma a short black, cotton dress. Akane and Kasumi had wondered at how generous Nabiki was being, even if it was to buy a boy a dress. They each asked what she was up to. Waving away the astonishment, Nabiki claimed seeing Ranma-chan in a dress was payment enough.

Ranma hadn't gone to the mall to really buy anything. He was a man now so he had no use for girlie things. The dress was nice though, and even if she wasn't a girl much anymore, it was nice to remember every now and then. 

Looking in the mirror, Ranma smoothed the dress down over her hips and twisted one-way and then another. It looked and felt good. Having been a boy for so long, she could say with some conviction that the dress made her look like a guy's wet dream.

Too bad she didn't notice Akane watching her until the cry of pervert on the mumbled remark for underwear.

It was late afternoon when they finally decided to leave the mall. Though it had more to do with Akane's increasing anger as Ranma-chan was hit on left and right by the guys there. Kasumi pretended not to notice and Nabiki seemed rather smug; the mercenary still gave Ranma chills with that smile. Rather than suffer through more of Akane's malletings, Ranma found herself some cold water in a bathroom and changed into the stained shirt; it wouldn't have looked good to her mother if Ranma returned female and in a dress anyway.

There was still plenty of light and the sun was warm as they walked down the street, only a few blocks from the dojo. 

"Ohohohohohoho! And to think you thought to defeat the Black Rose!"

Ranma looked around for the crazy laughter and the sound of people in pain. He left his bag with Nabiki and jumped on top of the wall and looked down into the field. There, a leotard-clad woman with a long ribbon was beating down three masked figures. Ranma swooped down into the field and caught the ribbon on its next pass. "Doncha think that's enough?" he snapped at the loon of a gymnast.

The girl had her hair tied into a loose ponytail with a small ribbon. Her face was narrow and angled, done up with some make-up, and she would have seemed elegant if not for the purple leotard and haughty stance. She held still a moment and looked Ranma over with an intense gaze. A new light burned in the gymnast's eyes as she sauntered over to him. "Now that something better has come around."

Ranma squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze. Having girls look at him like that was still a bit disconcerting. He was still new to being a guy like this around people. But he was a guy now, wasn't he? He shouldn't feel uncomfortable about these things, right? Ranma returned the look, studying the gymnasts frame, and wondered if she would have turned on the real Ranma. 

"Ranma! What are you doing flirting with another girl?!" Akane screamed, having finally made it over the wall. She began to burn with a red aura and her left hand found a mallet.

"Wha?!" Ranma looked at Akane shocked. "I ain't flirtin with-"

Grabbing onto Ranma possessively, the girl narrowed her eyes at each of the girls entering the area. "And who are these trollops, my Ranma-sama?"

Nabiki and Kasumi walked through the gate and gave Akane an odd look. The youngest Tendou blushed and muttered something about perverted jerks and showing off.

"Hey, get off of me you loon!" Ranma cried, pushing the girl off. Pretty or not, the girl gave him chills, worse than Nabiki.

The girl looked confused for a moment then straightened herself out and glared at Akane. "You have placed some sort of vile spell upon my one true love. I shall not rest until you are beaten and my Ranma-sama can share his feelings with me! I, the Black Rose of St. Bacchus, Kuno Kodachi, age seventeen, shall return to make you pay! What is your name peasant?"

Standing up tall with her rising anger, Akane glared back, "I'm Tendou Akane and I don't have a spell on Ranma!"

Kodachi laughed and bounced out of sight only after blowing Ranma a kiss. "Fear not, my Ranma-sama! I shall return!" She missed his full body shiver. 

"Akane!"

Akane stopped on her way to let Ranma know how she felt about him flirting with other girls and stared at the masked individuals. On closer inspection she found them not to be masked at all, rather heavily bandaged instead. "Do I know you?"

One of them removed the bandages. Akane recognized the girl as a classmate from school. "Akane! You've got to help us! We're supposed to have a match against that lunatic, but she keeps attacking us before the match! You're the only one strong enough to stand up to her! Please, will you take our place in the match next Saturday?"

Blinking, Akane wavered with indecision. She'd never done anything like this before. A week wasn't very long to train for Rhythmic Gymnastics.

"It's a matter of school honor; you have to accept!"

Akane looked to Ranma, who shrugged, then back. She nodded and the bandaged girls cheered, leaving her with a number of tools to train with.

~

"Do you even know anything about Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts, sugar?" Ranma asked skeptically, leaning against the dojo wall as Akane walked around each of the weapons: a ball, hoop, bowling pin, and a ribbon. The rules to this branch of the Art were simple. Stay in the ring or you lose. Use only weapons to attack or you lose. The fight is over when someone falls out, doesn't use a weapon to attack, taps out, or goes unconscious. 

"How hard can it be?" Akane asked, picking up the ribbon and twirling it through the air. "We just have to use these as weapons instead of our hands and feet." The end of the ribbon caught her ankle and Akane ended up pulling herself off the ground and landing on her back.

"Ha!" Ryouga suddenly walked in through the dojo doors and dumped a cup of hot water of Ranma's head. He looked over at Akane with a sly smirk. "Well, I suppose I could train you."

Ranma-chan scowled and rung some of the water out of her long brown hair. "You know Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts?"

"Some." Ryouga nodded, picking up one end of the ribbon and pulling fast, spinning Akane like a top.

"Hey!" Akane dizzily protested, not quite able to get her bearings with the room spinning like it was.

Shrugging, Ranma-chan stood up and headed for the doors. "Well, I guess you've got your coach then Akane."

"What?" Ryouga stopped chuckling at Akane and watched Ranma leaving. "You aren't going to train also?"

Looking over her shoulder, "No."

"Ranma!" Akane whined. "You're not really going to leave me alone with this pervert are you?"

Shrugging, Ranma left. "Ryouga's fine, Akane. He's a regular cutie-pie."

Ryouga got a little distant look in his eyes as he gazed after Ranma. "Cutie-pie." He smiled contently.

"Cutie-pie?" Akane blinked. That couldn't have been what she heard, could it?

~

Cutie-pie? Ranma looked back to the dojo for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. Ryouga was an idiot and a jerk, always splashing her with warm water. He was cute though, maybe a little naive and rough around the edges, but there was a certain sweetness. She liked the way his little fangs sometimes caught the light when he smiled.

"Baka." Ranma-chan grabbed her pigtail unconsciously and tried to forget the whole thing. 

Inside the house Ranma found her father and Tendou-san at another game of Shogi while her mother sat at the table discussing something with Kasumi. The latter Ranma-chan was fairly certain she didn't want to know about since Kasumi was blushing again. 

She did find Nabiki relaxing in her short shorts and a tank top in front of the television, doing leg lifts. There was something strange about the girl the Ranma-chan couldn't quite put her finger on. Her mind seemed to be constantly occupied, but she was always conscious of her surroundings. It was like her eyes were always open should an opportunity arise. Was Ranma another opportunity to this girl?

"So?" Ranma asked, sitting down beside the other girl.

Nabiki dropped her leg and lounged on her side, looking at Ranma-chan through half-lidded eyes. In a sultry voice, "Everything is set. You can get started preparing everything tomorrow."

Ranma nodded then, "Me?" She saw Nabiki grin and nod. "Ain'tcha gonna help out too?"

Nabiki laughed heartily and slapped Ranma on the thigh good-naturedly. "Of course not, Ranma. I'm the manager, not a physical laborer."

Sighing, Ranma nodded and slumped her shoulders. Nabiki had done a lot already with getting things set up with the bank, designers, and what not. Besides, being the guy, it was Ranma's responsibility to do the more physical work, or so Ranma thought. The real Ranma would probably have had money coming into the family already. 

Their conversation seemed to have been overheard by others. "What are you two talking about, son?" Nodoka asked.

"Huh? Oh, Nabiki and me were getting together a restaurant for some extra income." Ranma replied easily.

"Restaurant!?!" Genma shot to his feet and stared at his son incredulously. "Where did you get enough money for that, boy?"

"Ha! Like I'd tell an old thief like you!" Ranma-chan flopped onto her back with a snort. She began to feel a little nervous as she found Nabiki looking up and down her stretched out body.

Smiling slightly, Nodoka nodded and shushed her husband. "What will you be preparing in this restaurant, my son?"

"Why, my famous okonomiyaki, of course!" Ranma-chan grinned proudly.

Hand over her mouth; Kasumi hoped Ranma-chan didn't see her smile. "Oh my, that sounds like a lot of work, Ranma-chan. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Sure. No sweat, sugar." Ranma waved the warning off, completely missing Kasumi's frown of disappointment. Nabiki, however, did not.

"You wouldn't want to join our little business venture, would you Kasumi." Nabiki asked. The more free help they got meant fewer expenses later after all.

"Well," Kasumi looked over at their fathers meaningfully, ", it doesn't seem I will be as busy around the house now that Auntie is here."

Nodding, Nodoka quickly agreed. She could see grandchildren dancing around the room already! "Yes, you can leave the house to me if you'd like to help my son, Kasumi. I think it is a wonderful idea."

Kasumi bowed. "Thank you, Auntie Saotome."

"And you can have Akane waitress. It would be like a family business!" Nodoka cried happily, a cheery smile on her face that made most everyone else nervous.

~

"It's very nice of Ryouga-kun to help Akane out like this, don't you think Ranma?" Kasumi asked pleasantly while washing the dishes from dinner.

Ranma shrugged, drying the dishes he was handed. "Yeah, I guess. She sorta needs all the help she can get."

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Ranma. Even if it is true."

Ranma smiled at the eldest sister. It took a while to get used to her quiet nature, far too subservient for Ranma's tastes, but she was really an intelligent person. He'd seen her studying medical books borrowed from Toufuu-sensei actually. But in a way, Ranma caught herself becoming jealous of Kasumi. Could that have been her if the real Ranma hadn't died? Maybe not exactly, but it sounded sweet all the same.

"No, that way, you baka!" Akane shouted as Ryouga almost stumbled into the hallway closet. 

Kasumi and Ranma looked up from what they were doing to see Ryouga walking through the kitchen door with Akane in his arms. She looked thoroughly pissed off and beat him over the head with the club in her hands. It probably explained why Ryouga was wobbling so bad.

"You can stop doing that now." Ryouga got out between hits. Akane stopped to be certain they were in the right room.

"Oh my." Kasumi wiped her hands off on her apron and went over to Akane. "You hardly know each other, Akane. Shouldn't you at least wait until after daddy approves?"

Akane blinked while Ryouga went completely red in the face. "What are you talking about, Kasumi? I sprained my ankle and needed Ryouga to help me in."

"Oh."

Ranma could barely hold himself off from laughing aloud. Ryouga looked about ready to burst and Akane was just clueless, nothing new here. Still, they might make a decent couple.

Beginning to gain some control, Ryouga zeroed in on Ranma and began to stutter. "Uh, so, uh, R-Ranm-ma, cough. Uh, I don't s-suppose that, uh . . ."

"Ryouga thinks you can do better than me now that I'm injured." Akane sniffed and folded her arms; she plainly hated the idea, but had gone through with it as some sort of honor thing. There was a lot of that going around. Enough to make one suspect it was contagious like a disease.

Drying off the last dish, Ranma folded the towel back up on the oven railing. "No thanks. I think I'll pass on that one, sugar."

"But you can't!" Genma burst into the kitchen, fists clenched dramatically. "As heir to the school of Anything Goes you must accept all challenges!"

"This ain't no challenge, pops." Ranma said firmly. "It's a joke. Who'd want to fight that loon Kodachi anyway? She'll probably knock herself out with her own poisons before the tournament anyway."

Nodoka stepped into the kitchen, her katana in hand. "It does not matter who the challenger is or what the sport. A challenge to the heir of Anything Goes must be honored and met, son."

"Geez, mom." Ranma scowled, his face tightening up. What was this? He might have become a great martial artist, but did he have to prove it every damn time a challenge was made? This one wasn't even made to him! It seemed like it was Akane's responsibility and if she failed then she should live with it herself. Ranma was planning to save the girl every time she ran into a little trouble. "I don't even know a thing about this Rhythmic Martial Arts thing."

"I can teach you!" Ryouga spoke up quickly, his face burning up even faster as everyone turned to look at him. Even Akane quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Then I see no more argument, do you Ranma?" Nodoka asked, though by her tone everyone knew it was meant as a command.

Sighing deeply, Ranma shook his head. Before he could head out for the dojo for his training, Ryouga coughed. "You're going to have to be a girl for this, Ranma. Boys aren't allowed in the tournament."

Ranma growled and put her hand into the warm dishwater Kasumi had been using to clean the plates. "Let's go, P-chan."

To be continued.

***

That's the first installment of the Avatar. The idea was actually being worked out a few months ago and then with the help of Cannibal Who Snacks I've got the full eighteen chapters mapped out.

I was at first thinking of putting it all out at once, but with all of my other projects it started to drag on. So, here I am appeasing Cannibal and a few others who have heard of it and wanted to read it. 

A few notes, this will not be the usual Ranmaverse with the ordered series of events, obviously. Relationships will be quite different, even more obvious, and it will not run the course of the Church of the True Fiancees. 

After this you can expect Amazons, perverts, deadly enemies, and crazy new martial arts techniques. Basically everything you've come to expect from a Ranma fanfic.

Until then, you can send C&C to jehtek@hotmail.com

Or visit my website at: www.geocities.com/jehtek

Ja ne.


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